Page 122 of Elven Shadow

“Privacy does have its perks,” Rebecca panted, focused mostly on putting one foot in front of the other without falling over and dragging the old healer with her.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t still do my job,” Zida continued. “I took an oath, and I mean to keep it. If you survive the rest of this, kid, I’ll do whatever I can for you after today. But for now…”

She rummaged through her fanny pack again, slowing them down even more while they hobbled through the compound together.

Rebecca could hardly keep her eyes open. When the healer produced another seemingly empty vial from her fanny pack and tipped it sideways toward Rebecca with her free hand, though, an odd mixture of longing and disgust flared through the Bloodshadow Elf.

Rebecca eyed the vial, fighting with two completely opposite urges for what to do with this next round of emergency medicine. That in and of itself was a red flag. “Are you trying to get me hooked on some shit I can’t even see?”

“I’m trying to save your life,” Zida snapped. “Unless you’d rather not and take your chances on your own.”

With a sigh, Rebecca reached toward the vial, and only when she couldn’t close her fingers around it the first time did she realize she was already seeing double. Sometimes triple. It seemed a better idea to wait until her vision cleared a little.

“If I wanted to die, you don’t think I could’ve just given up back there with the fucking changeling on top of me?”

“Huh.” Zida pursed her lips, her wrinkled face scrunching in on itself. “Well, there’sdying, and then there’s dying with an audience. Now, I can’t speak to the first one, but you did already prove the second isn’t quite your cup of tea.”

A weak bitter laugh escaped Rebecca through an equally weak exhale. “Is that all I proved down there?”

“Pretty much. That and the fact that you know how to think on your feet while being stabbed in the back. You clearly got more going for you than you let on at first glance.”

For the first time since being hauled to her feet again, Rebecca managed to successfully turn and look at Zida’s face head-on without feeling like her body was about to fall apart. “More going for me than I let on?”

The old healer clicked her tongue. “I never said I knew what it was. Not my job to find out, either.”

“Just…take me to…the infirmary,” Rebecca muttered, wheezing for abnormally long moments between each word as she fought to catch her breath. Even with Zida supporting a disturbingly large percentage of Rebecca’s weight, walking across the compound was now almost too much.

“Take this first.” Zida wiggled the vial under Rebecca’s nose again. “Wecando both. And we should. That’s my professional recommendation. Take this, and I can guarantee you’ll have your strength back and your wits about you. Not forever, but it’ll get you through what comes next. You sure as hell won’t be hobbling around up here like you’re older than I am. So how about it? Here, I’ll even open it for you.”

“Get me to a bed,” Rebecca snarled.

Whether it was the strident warning in her voice or Zida’s dedication to her oath as a healer, the old woman finally seemed to take Rebecca’s request-turned-command a lot more seriously now.

Her wrinkled lips puckered profusely beneath a darkening scowl, but then she veered away from the entrance into the common room and continued down the perimeter hallway leading to the infirmary instead.

“Doesn’t matter what my job is,” she grumbled. “Everybodythinks they’re an expert.”

As they hurried down the corridor, the growing noise of Shade’s members emerging from the garage grew louder behind them. Rebecca gave up trying to note their progress through the building until Zida came to an abrupt stop with a hissing snarl and snapped Rebecca’s attention back into focus.

She’d completely forgotten about the pile of debris in the hallway and the ruined homunculus lying in pieces on top of that pile.

The very same construction that had put her in this state.

“Well Hakari slap me sideways.” Zida gaped at the proof of Rebecca’s battle with the first homunculus just outside the infirmary doors.

“I…told you I…took care of…it,” Rebecca panted.

The healer looked directly up at her with wide eyes and snorted. “I bet you did. And now you wanna remind me you’re an elf of your word, eh?”

Rebecca couldn’t even fake a smile. “Aren’t we all?”

“Oh no. No, no, no. I’m not falling for that trap. Let’s go.” Zida hauled Rebecca along with her, tsking and shaking her head.

Had that been a jab at Elves in general, or some kind of backhanded compliment aimed at Rebecca specifically?

Not that it was an important detail at the moment, given the urgency of her current state, but itwasan interesting little factoid to tuck away in her mind for later.

If therewasa later.

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